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As the UK's Prince William prepares for a visit to Dubai on Thursday, pupils in the city are keen to find out what life as a royal is really like.
From his favourite food to his favourite family member, children from Victory Heights Primary School have some burning questions for the Duke of Cambridge.
When The National visited on Tuesday, pupils aged seven to 11 proudly waved the UK flag and gave their best impression of Queen Elizabeth II’s wave to celebrate the royal visit happening later this week.
Year 6, Victory Heights Primary, would ask Prince William if he met him
Sidestepping the usual focus on politics and current affairs — often the topic of discussion on official visits — the pupils said they would like to tell Prince William what was on their minds so he could satisfy their curiosity.
Spencer Davies, a Year 6 pupil from the UK, was keen to know what the duke's junk food of choice was. “Do you have the Deliveroo app on your phone and what is your favourite takeaway?” he asked.
Seven-year-old Rocoo Ricco and Christopher Allen, 11, said they would like to ask Prince William who his favourite family member was and whether a trip to Burj Khalifa was on his to-do list.
Although the children will not personally meet the duke during his first visit to Dubai, assistant head teacher Robert McCall said they always celebrated British-themed observance days and anniversaries.
“We always like to make an event of things like royal visits or royal celebrations as we’re a British school and it’s a good way to weave parts of British history into the curriculum,” he said.
“Every month we focus on oracy, so when we heard about Prince William’s visit we started looking at elocution and pronunciation in class.
“In general, we speak to friends and family more casually, but when we asked the children to pose some questions to the duke, we encouraged them to ask it in a formal way, like they were speaking face-to-face with a member of the royal family.”
Visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai will have a chance to see Prince William during his first official trip to the Emirates this week.
The world's fair will celebrate the UK's day of celebrations on Thursday, where the duke will join in on a number of events and celebrations that highlight talent from across the UK.
No special tickets are required to enter Expo 2020 Dubai on the day and the site will be open to the public as usual.
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